Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day - Not Today

Just popping in today to say sorry, but there will be no Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day.  Life Happened today, but no worries . . . we will be back next Tuesday with our regular weekly giveaway fun!!!  Thanks for your patience and understanding :) 

And since no post is complete without a picture, here is another sneak peek from my new Charming Baby Quilts book that I shared yesterday ;)

I Wrote Another Book!!!

So I have been doing some secret sewing and today the secret is out!!!  I wrote another book!!!  I am thrilled to announce my new book Charming Baby Quilts published by It's Sew Emma. 

This book is all about my love of Charm Packs.  You all know that I love working with pre-cuts and I just seem to collect (hoard) Charm Packs.   I just love that you get such a variety of prints and colors in such a small package!!  Which got me thinking about how we all love to collect those little 5" squares, but maybe we don't know what to make with them once they are sitting on the shelf.

So I designed a collection of 10 baby quilts that use 1, 2, or 3 Charm Packs and each is a precious as the next.   You can mix and match collections, use one fabric line, or even use scrap 5" squares!!  But you are sure to find that each quilt is super fun and fast to make and perfect for beginners and experts alike.

And I am so excited to be working with It's Sew Emma Publishing company on this book. They have been amazing to work with and I am just thrilled with how they are making this book come together.  The graphics are amazing, the pictures are beautiful, and guess what . . . it will even have a spiral binding!!!!

So without further ado I give you Charming Baby Quilts!!!!    Charming Baby Quilts will be released in March of 2020 and it is even available for pre-order already!!!  You can pre-order a copy of Charming Baby Quilts directly from It's Sew Emma, or from Fat Quarter Shop (with a pre-order discount) , or if you would like to pre-order a signed copy directly from me, that is an option as well ;)   All pre-ordered books will ship out in March 2020     (** as you might guess, this is a temporary cover and I can't wait to share the full cover image as soon as the photo shoot is complete :)  .   

And of course, I will be sharing lots and lots more about Charming Baby Quilts over the coming months!!!  This is just a sneak peek of what is to come ;)   And I am so very excited!!!

Thanks for all popping in today and sharing this excited secret reveal with me ;)   I can't wait to share more with you all!!!

Bee Block Catch Up

So I am normally totally on top of getting my Bee Blocks out each month, but I have to admit to playing a little catch-up this morning. I don't know how these kept getting pushed to the bottom of the "to do right now" pile, but alas, they did.   I couldn't take it anymore and this morning I just pushed everything off the cutting table and pulled out my little bee mailers.  And I am happy to say they are now all in the mail!!!

So here they are.   A Land that I Love Block designed by Heather Valentine is making it's way to Shari :)  Isn't this just the cutest block!!!

This fun square in a square with some HST corners block is making it's way to Amy!  I so love that texture grey background!!

And this Granny Block is for Tamara!  Aren't those just the cutest little fabrics, especially the kissing birdies :)

While this Granny Block is on it's way to Kimberly!!  Kimberly asked us not to trim and I think it makes this finished block look so cool ;) 

Ahh, I love the feeling of being caught up.   Maybe I won't pull all of that "other" stuff back on the cutting board for a little bit and pretend I am all caught up with everything, tee hee hee!!

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Weekend!!! 

Tutorial Throwback Thursday - Road Home Snuggler

It's Thursday and that means another Tutorial Throwback feature.  And I have to say, this Thursday is cold!!!  Like we dropped a whole lot in the night, and woke up to temperatures in the Teens.  And so today I find myself cranking up the heat and snuggling up to get warm.  And all that snuggling up reminded me of my Road Home Snuggler quilt and I just figured it would be perfect for our throwback!!!

And yes, right off the bat, I made up the word Snuggler.  But doesn't it just sound like the perfect thing to wrap up in ;)     I made this quilt up for Happy Chemo, a wonderful organization that gives quilts to people who are struggling through the woes of chemotherapy.   I just love being able to make projects that bring comfort.  And I wanted it to be super snuggly so I used flannel!!!  

Did you know you can get Flannel in Layer Cakes!!! Like as in, already cut into 10" squares so you can make this quilt up in no time flat!!  And it is just like using regular fabric.  I didn't treat it any different than if I was stitching with cottons.   In fact, I made this second Road Home Snuggler when I happened to pick up another Wool and Needle Flannel Layer Cake because ya know, I liked the purple!!!   

On this second Road Home Snuggler quilt, I kept the quilting a little less dense.  I found that helped to keep it more soft and snuggly.   And I had fun trying a giant orange peel!!   I just used a regular cotton binding, and I found I liked it for tying everything up :)  

In the tutorial post, I shared the inspiration for the name and design of this "chemo quilt" and I wanted to post it here as well as it means a lot to me.

At the start of this quilt, I was staring at the flannel squares trying to decide how I wanted to turn it into a quilt.   I was pondering on Chemo, on family members I have seen go through it, and thinking about how many people struggle through it daily.  I kept coming back to the idea, that in the end, everyone wants to find a road home.  No path would lie straight ahead, it would likely require a lot of twisting and turning, maybe some backtracking here and there, but there would always be that journey to find the road home.  I love that each time I look at this quilt my eyes follow a different path.  They twist and turn, and sometimes backtrack, reminding me of those fighters journey.  I hope that whomever receives this quilt, can find peace and comfort as they struggle to move forward to find that Road Home.

I hope you have enjoyed today's Tutorial Throwback Thursday!!!    To make your own Road Home Snuggler quilt  just click on any of the quilt name links for the free step by step tutorial.   And when you are done, I would love to see your quilt!!  You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com, post it to social media with #happyquiltingwithmc  or or add it to my flickr group here ;)  I can't wait to see your Road Home Snuggler quilts!!!


Oh, and on a side note, Thank you for all of the super nice comments on the Steps To Tranquility quilt I shared last week for our Tutorial Throwback.  I actually had several requests on wanting to make the quilt, but in more of a Picnic Size vs a King Size.  So I did a little quilt math, and have added the fabric requirements and cutting directions for an 84" x 84" Picnic size of Steps to Tranquility at the end of the tutorial.  Just letting you know in case you were thinking the same thing of wanting to make it but smaller ;)

Thanks for popping in today and have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!

Starstruck Quilt Along - Lap Section

**  NOTE  - This post is part of a series of posts for the Starstruck Quilt Along.  If you would like to join (and have a chance to win one of three $75.00 Gift Certificates from Fat Quarter Shop ) you can find a list of the post links here :)  Here is the schedule

September 4th - Intro, Fabric Requirements, and Prizes Announcement 

September 18th - Cutting 

September 25th - Wall Hanging Piecing 

October 2nd - Baby Piecing 

October 9th - Lap Piecing  (That's Today!!!) 

October 16th - Picnic Piecing

October 23rd - Queen/King Piecing

November 13th - Star Struck Parade and Grand Prize Winners

Now, first off for this week, we need to pick a winner for the Baby Section Assignment.   And oh how I loved this week!!  It is so fun to get to see those centers finished!!!   And if you are just finding this QAL, it's never to late to join in the fun :)

The cutting assignment winner who will get a $30.00 Gift Certificate from Shabby Fabrics

#20 - Susan!!! - Congrats :)

 

And this week, we are learning a new unit, and it is so fun and easy.   We will be making a Lattice Unit and I have a slightly different way to make these so that it saves the waste of big stitch and flip corners.   You are going to love it!!!   So let's get to it :)  

THIS WEEKS ASSIGNMENT - LAP SECTION

And just like last week, we will piece all our Units, and since the units are pretty much the blocks as well, we can get right from the Units to putting together the Lap Section.  An if you are making the Fat Quarter Friendly layout today is all about scrappy, so have fun mixing up those prints ;)   And for either layout,  be sure that all the pieces you gather are labeled Lap pieces.   So let's get started with our only unit of the day.  And it is the . . . 

LATTICE UNITS

Gather (72) Background Triangles that were cut from 36 of the 5 1/4"x 5 1/4" squares in the cutting stage.  Also gather (36) 2 1/2" x 9 1/2" Print (Assorted) rectangles. 

Place a Background Triangle onto the Print Rectangle centering it and Pin.  No need to measure and perfectly center it as this unit will be trimmed, simple eyeball the center. Stitch a 1/4" seam on the pinned edge.   And once again, we will chain stitch to save time. 

So I find it helpful to pin all 36 units, and then Chain Stitch 1/4" seam along the edge of all 36 units.  And yes, that means at times, you will be only sewing on one piece of fabric.  No Worries, that parte will be trimmed so the thread won't show.   And even though you are sewing an inch or two of basically nothing, this is still far faster than starting and stopping to sew just along the triangle ;)  So just Chain Stitch all 36 units from the top of the Print rectangle to the bottom as shown below.

Then clip your threads and stack your units again.   Now we repeat on the other side.   Once again, Place and Eyeball Center a Background Triangle onto the other side of a Print Rectangle and pin.  You can reassure the triangles are centered to each other by matching the points horizontally ;) 

Then once again, Chain Stitch a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge of all 36 units, stitching from the top of the print rectangle to the bottom.

Then clip your threads and move to the ironing board.   Press the seams of all 36 units open.  This will make it easier to sew the units together and avoid bulk where the seams line up.  

TRIMMING LATTICE UNITS

And now, it is time to trim these Lattice Units Square.  The important thing when trimming Lattice Units is to be sure and center the Print rectangle, other wise your seams won't line up when you sew them together.  So to do this, we use a Trimming Template.   Click on this Link, Download and Print the Trimming Template, and be sure to print it at Actual Size (Custom 100% Scale) and not Shrunk to Fit the Paper.  Double check the 1" square to be sure you printed the template correctly.   Then you will need to get a Square Ruler.  If you have a 6" square ruler, that is best, but any size larger will do as well ;)  

Now place your square ruler onto the trimming template aligning the top right hand corner and mark the lines of the template with tape on your ruler as shown below.  I like to use Washi Tape, but masking tape works great as well :)  If you are using a ruler larger than 6", be sure and mark the 6" lines as well as the two diagonal seam lines.

If you are using a 6" ruler, you can simply center the ruler on the square, and mark the two diagonal seam lines.

 And now the fun part, trimming.   You will be trimming your blocks to 6" square using your marked ruler.
These first two steps are if you are using a larger square than 6". Begin by aligning the marked seam lines on your ruler with the seam lines on your Lattice unit.  Make sure that the raw edges of the Lattice unit extend past the 6" marked line's on your ruler.  Trim the 2 sides along the edge of the ruler as shown below.

Now spin your Lattice unit 180 degrees.  Once again, align the marked seam lines on your ruler with the seam lines on your Lattice unit and then align the raw edges you just trimmed of the Lattice with the marked 6" lines on your ruler.  Trim the 2 sides along the edge of the ruler.

If you are using a 6" square ruler, simply align the marked seam lines on your ruler with the seam lines on your Lattice unit.  Make sure that the raw edges of the Lattice unit extend all the way around the ruler. Trim all four sides.  

And whichever ruler size our use, continue trimming until you have trimmed all 36 Units.  You should now have 36 Lattice units that all measure 6" x 6" with perfectly centered Print rectangles.  Wasn't that a fun new little unit to learn!!!

And with all of your Units, which actually double as blocks today,  so you are now ready to move on to the final step.  

SEWING THE LAP SECTION

And we will start by turning our Units into Rows!! Layout your Lattice units in the Four rows as shown below.   2 Rows of 10 Blocks and 2 Rows of 8 Blocks, and be sure to follow the same orientation of blocks.  (and sorry for the digital picture, somehow I missed taking a picture of this step)   

Sew the rows together.  Do this by placing the second block in each row onto the first with right sides together.  Align and pin the seams and then stitch a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.   The repeat this process adding the third block, and then the fourth, and so on until the row is sewn together.  

I like to chain stitch two rows at a time so I don't have to cut threads after each block I sew on.  I just stitch the first two blocks in the first two rows in normal chain stitch fashion.   Then clip the row in the back and bring it around to the front again to add the next block.  Keep repeating this, moving in a "circle" motion until all the blocks are sewn in either of the two rows.  Then repeat for the remaining 2 rows of blocks.

Finally, press the seams of all 4 rows open.  Again, this reduces bulk where the seam meet.   Now you have two Side Rows (the shorter ones) and two Top/Bottom Rows (the longer ones).

And now it is just like adding a larger border ;)   Layout the Baby Section, the two Side Rows, and the two Top/Bottom Rows as shown below, again taking care that the block orientation is correct.  They can only be laid out one way as the reverse doesn't match up.

Place the two Side Rows onto the Baby Section with right sides together and align and Pin the edges.  You might have to ease in or stretch a bit based on the piecing of your center section.   Stitch a 1/4" seam along the two pinned sides.

Now press your seams open and then you are ready to repeat.  Place the Top and Bottom Rows onto the Baby Section with right sides together and align and Pin the edges.  Stitch a 1/4" seam along the two pinned edges.  Again, press the seam allowances open.

And all that is left is to add the Background border to your Lap Section. Start by sewing the (6)  3" x WOF strips together end to end to make one long strip.  Cut (2) 3" x 55 1/2" strips  and (2) 3" x 60 1/2" strips from your long strip. 

And just like the Baby Section, if you prefer to cut your strips a little longer and trim the excess the is an option as well.  The measurements listed above and in the picture are the exact size,  But you will note my strips are a bit longer.  Do whatever your prefer.

 Layout the Pieced Lap Center and the (2) 3" x 55 1/2" Background rectangles and the (2) 3" x 60 1/2" Background rectangles as shown below.

Place the two side rectangles onto the Lap Center with right sides together.  Pin and stitch a 1/4" seam along both edges.  Trim the excess if needed and press outwards towards the Background rectangle.    Then repeat for the Top and Bottom rectangles aligning, pinning, stitching, (trimming) and pressing outwards.

And your Lap Section is done and should measure appx. 60 1/2" x 60 1/2".    Wasn't that sew fun!!!!

So Now It's your Turn :)

Get your Lap Section sewn together and your assignment is complete!!!    And then you can enter to win the weekly prize :)   And again, if you have any questions at all please don't hesitate to ask in a comment or email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com  :)

The Weekly Prize is being sponsored by Olie and Evie  and a huge Thanks goes to them for their support a the Starstruck Quilt-Along.

This weeks prize is a custom Little Tree Petite Fat Quarter Bundle!!!   Oh, so fun and you will have just enough time to put something together for Christmas!!!

So what do you have to do for a chance to win these Fat Quarters?  Simple . . . Just link up your Lap Section all sewn up :)  You can link to a blog post, flickr picture, Instagram, Facebook . . .  or whatever.  Just make sure to link up by the end of the day on October 15th as I will be announcing a winner at the beginning of the next post :)  And on the link up where it asks for a Caption, add your name as well, so I know who you are ;)  

If you don't get your Lap Section done by October 15th you can still link it up :) (just not in time for the prize :)    The linky will remain open until the end of the Quilt-A-Long.  So if your out of town, or just had a busy week, no worries!!!  Just link up when you can :)

And Don't forget to add your beautiful Lap Sections to the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr group and to post it on social media with using #starstruckquiltalong.    I am so excited to see the Lap section all sewn up, it is just so great to see these grow!!! 

So let's get stitching!!!  And if you have questions, don't hesitate to email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.  Have a Happy Quilting Day!!

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